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Saving the Philippine Crocodile
Annual Report - 07 HighlightThe Critically Endangered Philippine crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis) is recovering from the brink of extinction thanks to local citizens and the Mabuwaya Foundation, a Filipino conservation group. As fisherman Victorino Montañedo, one of the 500 local people working with Mabuwaya, puts it: "If you protect the crocodiles, you also protect their habitat which provides food and water for us all."CEPF supported the foundation’s efforts to engage citizens like Montañedo in communities to restore the species to the waterways of the Sierra Madre Biodiversity Corridor in the Philippines Hotspot."Even though the Philippine crocodile is protected by law at the national level, these laws are often unenforceable at the local level," Mabuwaya Project Team Leader Jan van der Ploeg said. "So it’s vital to work with local communities to develop regulations from the ground up."Over the past three years, Mabuwaya worked with citizens in 20 barangays, or villages, with around 3,000 families, to raise awareness of the benefits that can result from conservation. Many of the threats facing the crocodile population, such as unsustainable fishing practices and habitat destruction, are also a threat to local livelihoods.As a result of Mabuwaya’s work, 15 barangays developed conservation plans and 11 of these included regulations to help protect the crocodiles and their habitat.During the same period, the organization also developed a reward scheme to engage community members in protecting crocodile nests and hatchlings, as well as a protocol for releasing crocodiles reared in captivity.This year, the hatchling program saw its first successes. In August 2006, Mabuwaya coordinated the Philippines’ first release of a captive adult crocodile from the program into the wild. In February 2007, the organization released four juvenile crocodiles near the Disulap River. | |
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© Jan van der Ploeg
Philippine crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis) hatchlings like this 1 month old offer hope for saving the Critically Endangered species.
© Mabuwaya Foundation
Isabella Province Governor Grace Padaca opens a special center that gives crocodile hatchlines a head start before release into the wild.
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